Hearing that, Lily Summer wavered. She took a quick sip of coffee, but her eyes still burned with resentment. "Fine, go on."
"Seven years ago, my parents' company ran into trouble. Around the same time, James was looking to marry someone. For whatever reason, he reached out to my folks. They didn't even bother asking what I thought — just agreed to it. So yeah, that marriage was all about business. There was never any love between us."
Maria said it all very calmly, as though it was about someone else's life.
Lily remembered what Richard and his wife had once told her — it lined up almost exactly with what Maria just said. Her doubt eased a little.
"You were married for two years. Are you saying you didn’t feel anything at all?" Lily frowned slightly.
"He was in love with
